Vote delayed on Congress Square Park

Opponents want to keep open space; City touts development

The Portland City Council voted Monday night to delay a vote on a proposal to sell a portion of Congress Square Park to a developer.

The decision followed several hours of heated debate. The proposal will be brought up again at the council's next meeting on September 16.

The city is considering selling off two-thirds of the park to the Eastland Park Hotel, but the potential sale hasn’t come without a fight.

Some said the blighted area of the city is rundown and dirty, and selling part of the park to developers would provide an economic boom. Opponents of the sale said it would set a bad precedent by selling a park that belongs to the people.

With the vote pending, protesters stood with signs and messages were drawn in chalk urging the city not to sell the land to the new Westin Portland Harborview Hotel, which is being renovated.

“There is anywhere from 300 to 500 people that will be part of that event center and that’s going to be a big boost to the Portland Art Museum, the State Theater and all the restaurants in the area,” Portland Mayor Michael Brennan said. “We’ve lost a lot of business in the downtown to Walmart and malls and things like that, and this is an opportunity to revitalize that part of the downtown.”

“We’re not anti-development, we’re just anti-development on a public park,” said Frank Turek of the Friends of Congress Square Park.

The Friends of Congress Square Park said the public property is coveted open space.

“They are building more housing in the area and we need more open space,” Turek said. “It’s for the quality of life that we need this whole open space. What they propose to leave us is nothing more than an extended sidewalk.”

Brennan said they city sells public property to private developers all the time.

Protesters marched from the park to City Hall to attend the meeting.

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